Automatic safety attachment for stamp-mills.



No. 810,006. PATENTED JAN. 10, 1900. J. 0. H. VAUGHT. AUTOMATIC SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR STAMP MILLS APPLICATION FILED MAR.29, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR STAMP-MILLS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1906.

Application filed March 29, 1904:. Serial No. 200,535.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES CHARLES Hos- KINS VAUGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lead, in the county of Lawrence and State of South Dakota, have invented a new and useful Automatic Safety Attachment for Stamp-Mills, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to an automatic safety attachment for stamp-mills.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device of great strength and durability adapted to be readily applied to stamp-mills and capable of automatically throwing a stamp out of action to prevent the cam thereof from being injured by the tappet of the stampstem.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device capable of obviating the necessity of putting a stamp out of action by hand and prevent the injuries which often result from an attempt to perform such operation by hand.

The invention also has for its object toprovide a device capable of operating automatically to hold the tappet in an elevated position beyond its actuating-cam should the parts wear sufficiently to permit the tappet in falling to strike the cam, or should all the ore work out from under the stamp, or should the stem break below the tappet or the latter become loose on the stem.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in any suitable material, when made of wood the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, pro portion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an automatic safety device constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a stamp. Fig.2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the spring-actuated finger, illustrating the constructionof the upper end of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a portion of the trip-bar, illustrating the construction of the notch. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the upper end of a tappet-supporting finger, showing the same reinforced by a metal strap. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the manner of mounting the lower end of the bar or member of the tripping device and the means for connecting the lower end of the spring with the same.

Like numerals of reference designate cor responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates an upright automatically-operating spring actuated tappet supporting finger normally held out of the path of a tappet 2 bya hinged tripping device 3 and adapted when released to move inward into the path of the tappet 2, whereby when the tappet is raised by the cam the finger will extend beneath and support the tappet in an elevated position out of the path of the cam. By this construction the tappet will be pre vented from striking and breaking or other wise injuring the cam. The tappet when in its lowermost position is normally about an inch above the cam, and the continuous wearing away of the shoe and the die in the mortar gradually causes the tappet to approach the cam, and in time the wear will become sufficient to permit the tappet in fallin to Strike the cam. Also when the ore is all worked out from under the stamp the tappet will strike the cam, and should the stampstem break below the tappet the latter will strike the cam. Should the tappet become loose, it will fall down and strike the cam. The tripping device is arranged in the path of the tappet and is adjustable to cause the tappet to throw it out of engagement with the fingers before the tappet strikesthe cam.

The finger, which may be constructed of will be provided at its lower end with a cap 4, having an upper socket to receive the lower end of the finger and provided with a lower bifurcated portion 5, forming an open bearing for a rod or shaft 6, upon which the finger is mounted. The rod or shaft 6,which supports the finger, is located beneath the cam-floor 7, which is provided with the usual openings for the stamp-stems of the battery of stamps. The upper end of the finger is provided with a metal cap 8, having a socket to receive the upper end of the finger and provided with a corrugated upper end face 9, curved slightly, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and adapted to present an inclined supporting-face to the tappet when the finger is swung inward by the spring 10.

.. pierce the finger and are provided at their When the bar 13 is tripped by the impact of from dropping when the cam leaves the same. The farther the finger extends beneath the tappet the higher the latter will be held, and the inward movement of the finger is limited by the stamp-stem, as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the finger being provided with a recess or cut-away portion 11 to permit it to extend around one side of the stem. The inclined face 9 extends upward and outward from the tappet when it is in engagement with the same, and it is thereby enabled to gradually advance to a positionv beneath the tappet. Instead of employing the socket 8 the upper end of the finger 1 may be reinforced by a metal strap or piece 12, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The tripping device consists of a bar or member having an upper horizontal portion 13 and a lower inclined portion, which is sig- The moidally curved, as shown in Fig. 1. lower end of the bar or member is pivoted in a bracket or support 141 by a pin 15, and the upper portion is provided with an inclined notch 16, forming a slight shoulder for engag-' ing the upper end of a combined guide and keeper 17. The combined guide and keeperconsists of an approximately U-shaped fastening device having upper and lower shanks and a connecting upright portion, which is spaced from the adjacent side of the finger. The shanks or sides of the fastening device outer ends with nuts, as clearly shown in Fig.

2. The upper portion of the tripping device,

extends into the combined guide and keeper, and it receives the upper portion thereof within the notch 16, whereby the finger is held normally out of the path of the tappet. The spring 10, which is connected with the lower portion of the keeper and with the lower end of the tripping device maintains the finger firmly in engagement with the tripping device, whereby the finger is prevented from accidentally throwing the stamp out of action. The tripping device is provided at an intermediate point with a threaded opening, receiving an upright adjustingscrew 18, having a head at its upper end adapted to be engaged by the tappet. The head of the screw may be readily arranged at the desired elevation for causing the tappet to trip the finger when the said tappet reaches the danger-line.

The spring is provided at its ends with upper and lower attachment-pieces 19 and 20,

having tapering shanks 21, around which the.

tapering ends 22 of the spring are coiled, whereby the end pieces 19 and 20 are securely fastened to the spring. The upper end piece 1.9 is provided with a perforation to receive the lower side of the combined guide and keeper, and the lower end piece is bifurcated to straddle the lower end of the tripping device, to which it is pivoted by a bolt 23. The spring for actuating the finger may be, however, arranged in any other manner, and any other suitable means may be employed for automatically throwing the tappet-supporting finger inward when the same is released.

It will of course be understood that a tripping device similar to that described will be arranged at each of the stamps of the battery of a stamp-mill.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the same, of a safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising a tappet-support normally arranged beyond the path of the tappet, and means located beneath the cam-actuated tappet and arranged to be directly operated by the tappet for moving the said support into the path of the said tappet, whereby the latter will be supported out of operation.

2. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the tappet, of a tappetsupport normally arranged out of the path of the tappet, and means located beneath the cam-actuated tappet and arranged to be directly engaged by the said tappet for carrying the support into the path of the same, whereby the tappet will be supported in an elevated position beyond the cam.

3. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the same, of a safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising a tappet-support, a tripping device located beneath the said tappet and holding the tappetsupport normally out of the path of the tappet and arranged to be directly engaged by the tappet, whereby the support will be released, and means for automatically moving the support into the path of the tappet, when the said support is released.

4. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the same, of a safety attachment for stamp -mills, comprising a spring-actuated support, and a tripping device located below and normally holding the support out of the path of the tappet and operable by direct engagement with the tappet for releasing the support, said support being extended above the tripping device.

5. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the same, of a safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising an automatically-movable tappet-support, a tripping device located beneath and normally IIO holding the tappet-support out of the path of a tappet, and an adjustable device carried by the tripping device and arranged to be directly engaged and operated by the tappet.

6. A safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising a tappet-support, a pivotally mounted tripping device detachably engaging the support for holding the same normally out of the path of the tappet, said trippin device being arranged to be directly engage and operated by the tappet, and a spring for maintaining the supportin engagement with the tripping device and for moving the support into the path of the tappet when the said support is tripped, said support being extended above the tripping device.

7. A safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising a tappetsupport having a com bined guide and keeper, a tripping device operating within the combined guide and keeper and provided with means for engaging the same, and a spring for maintaining the keeper in engagement with the tripping device and for actuating the supporting device when the same is tripped.

8. A safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising a tappet-support having a combined guide and keeper, a tripping device consisting of a pivoted bar or member extending into the combined guide and keeper and provided with means for engaging the same, and a spring connected with the combined guide and keeper and with the tripping device.

9. The combination with a tappet, and a cam for actuating the same, of a safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising an upright automatically-movable oscillatory tappetsupporting finger, and means located beneath the cam-actuated tappet for setting and tripping the finger, said means being arranged to be directly engaged and operated by the tappet.

10. A-safety attachment for stamp-mills, comprising an upright oscillatory tappet-supporting finger provided at its upper end with a cap having an inclined corrugated face which extends upward and outward from the tappet when in engagement with the same, means for actuating the finger, and a tripping device arranged to be directly engaged. and operated by the tappet.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CHARLES HOSKINS VAUG-H'l.

Witnesses DAVID MORGAN, ANNA ESTERBROOK. 

